I thought the cop presence was pretty normal until...I had just left an art installation on the open playa and was biking towards the man, when a BLM pickup truck came screaming by me, going about 40 mph, missed me by a few feet. Much annoyed, I followed the fucker down to where there was a large group of maybe 5-6 BLM ranger trucks. About 8 large, burley BLM guys, fully armed, heavily equipped with subduing objects (clubs, handcuffs) had surrounded a five-foot tall naked woman and it was clear that arrest was on their mind.

What the five-foot tall naked woman did next was pure genius. She grabbed a camera and started recording the BLM jocks. They backed off in a hurry and the situation continued to de-escalate until the BLM guys started to leave. But not before I talked to a couple of them about driving fast on the playa and how a tap on the horn might be viewed as a sign of courtesy when passing a bicycle.

The woman in question:
-did not appear to be inebriated.
-was riding, not driving an art car.
-had a young child with her.

I hung around a bit to see exactly what the rumpus was, but she got real busy talking to her art-car mates and I was ready to move on so I did. So I do not know what the BLM guys were on about.

As for "leaving it at home", what a joke. What, was this your first burn? Not really picking up on the psychedelic aspect of BM? A campmate of mine had a glass bong and smoked it openly right next to the road, so openly that people from other camps were stopping by for a toke. And that's the way it should be.

tapeta wrote:As for "leaving it at home", what a joke. What, was this your first burn? Not really picking up on the psychedelic aspect of BM? A campmate of mine had a glass bong and smoked it openly right next to the road, so openly that people from other camps were stopping by for a toke. And that's the way it should be.

I wont say leave it home.. instead how much are you willing to put to to play the drug/cop game..

Wow, that's too bad, .. it's important that you ask him why... Good job on that... now we know exactly where their head is at.

[quote="**burn**"]I noticed one overt BLM Ranger.
We were waiting (forever) at the Rocket Friday Night and he actually walked over to the mutant vehicle I was riding on and peeked into the cab.
I said Hello, what are you looking for? He said Nothing, but I didn't let him off that easy.
I followed him and walked with him a bit. I said we are just having fun.
No violence, no pot in the air, why is he going of his way to find illegal activity?
He said that his bosses told him that there are illegal activities going on out here and that if he came back with zero citations
that they would accuse him of not doing his job and just having a good time.

tapeta wrote:I thought the cop presence was pretty normal until...I had just left an art installation on the open playa and was biking towards the man, when a BLM pickup truck came screaming by me, going about 40 mph, missed me by a few feet. Much annoyed, I followed the fucker down to where there was a large group of maybe 5-6 BLM ranger trucks. About 8 large, burley BLM guys, fully armed, heavily equipped with subduing objects (clubs, handcuffs) had surrounded a five-foot tall naked woman and it was clear that arrest was on their mind.

What the five-foot tall naked woman did next was pure genius. She grabbed a camera and started recording the BLM jocks. They backed off in a hurry and the situation continued to de-escalate until the BLM guys started to leave. But not before I talked to a couple of them about driving fast on the playa and how a tap on the horn might be viewed as a sign of courtesy when passing a bicycle.

The woman in question:-did not appear to be inebriated.-was riding, not driving an art car.-had a young child with her.

I hung around a bit to see exactly what the rumpus was, but she got real busy talking to her art-car mates and I was ready to move on so I did. So I do not know what the BLM guys were on about.

As for "leaving it at home", what a joke. What, was this your first burn? Not really picking up on the psychedelic aspect of BM? A campmate of mine had a glass bong and smoked it openly right next to the road, so openly that people from other camps were stopping by for a toke. And that's the way it should be.

Just reread you post.. It sounds like a real bullshit story to me.. 5 6 blm trucks riping across the playa.. 8 huge cop in battle gear confronting one person.. cops backing back down..

BLM and BMorg have a head to head every day.. Shit like your trying tell would come out..

BLM leadership playing power politics with BMORG that's the problem, sending in untrained rangers at the last minute because their brinkmanship games have failed, trying to float a chunk of their agency's budget on burners, attempting backdoor deals with washoe county sherriff to do all law enforcement at Burning Man trying to put BMORG in pincer move, directing personnel to intimidate people in the regional network outside Burning Man. None of that is the decision of an individual ranger.

Those BLM rangers are part of our community too, some not by choice. Welcome them home if you can, but stay clear if they won't be part of the community themselves.

Sage Venkman wrote:BLM leadership playing power politics with BMORG that's the problem, sending in untrained rangers at the last minute because their brinkmanship games have failed, trying to float a chunk of their agency's budget on burners, attempting backdoor deals with washoe county sherriff to do all law enforcement at Burning Man trying to put BMORG in pincer move, directing personnel to intimidate people in the regional network outside Burning Man. None of that is the decision of an individual ranger.

WTF? that's sure out of left feild.. maybe you should put the pipe down and step back..

Sage Venkman wrote:BLM leadership playing power politics with BMORG that's the problem, sending in untrained rangers at the last minute because their brinkmanship games have failed, trying to float a chunk of their agency's budget on burners, attempting backdoor deals with washoe county sherriff to do all law enforcement at Burning Man trying to put BMORG in pincer move, directing personnel to intimidate people in the regional network outside Burning Man. None of that is the decision of an individual ranger.

Those BLM rangers are part of our community too, some not by choice. Welcome them home if you can, but stay clear if they won't be part of the community themselves.

Interesting you should mention Washoe County Sheriffs - I saw a number of BLM personal, a number of Pershing County Sheriffs, a couple of Carson City Sheriffs but only one from Washoe County. While the other agencies were in BRC, Washoe County literally would just do a drive through and leave. Washoe County definitely was not trying "...to do all law enforcement at Burning Man trying to put BMORG in pincer move...".

You know it's going to be a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.

geospyder wrote:Interesting you should mention Washoe County Sheriffs - I saw a number of BLM personal, a number of Pershing County Sheriffs, a couple of Carson City Sheriffs but only one from Washoe County. While the other agencies were in BRC, Washoe County literally would just do a drive through and leave. Washoe County definitely was not trying "...to do all law enforcement at Burning Man trying to put BMORG in pincer move...".

You are talking about this year, I'm talking about BLM tactics over ten years, and over ten years the makeup of law enforcement at Burning Man has changed. One thing overall is for sure, take a look at the afterburn reports for ten years back, look at the population growth relative to both the size of law enforcement and the law enforcement budget for Burning Man. The growth of the size and budget for law enforcement for Burning Man is out of proportion with population growth, and you have to guess that whoever was asking for that money wants more money from us.

Now that the population growth has slowed and is now reversing there needs to be a reckoning. Less people with disproportionately large law enforcement means problems.

geospyder wrote:Interesting you should mention Washoe County Sheriffs - I saw a number of BLM personal, a number of Pershing County Sheriffs, a couple of Carson City Sheriffs but only one from Washoe County. While the other agencies were in BRC, Washoe County literally would just do a drive through and leave. Washoe County definitely was not trying "...to do all law enforcement at Burning Man trying to put BMORG in pincer move...".

You are talking about this year, I'm talking about BLM tactics over ten years, and over ten years the makeup of law enforcement at Burning Man has changed. One thing overall is for sure, take a look at the afterburn reports for ten years back, look at the population growth relative to both the size of law enforcement and the law enforcement budget for Burning Man. The growth of the size and budget for law enforcement for Burning Man is out of proportion with population growth, and you have to guess that whoever was asking for that money wants more money from us.

Now that the population growth has slowed and is now reversing there needs to be a reckoning. Less people with disproportionately large law enforcement means problems.

You are correct. I'm talking about this year. I have no experience in the previous years since this was my virgin year. The reason I focused on your comments about Washoe Country is that is the agency I work with. I was a participant and was surprised to see one of our deputies driving through. I think he was jealous that I was having fun. I'm not a sworn full time deputy just an auxiliary.

You know it's going to be a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.

Sage Venkman wrote:You are talking about this year, I'm talking about BLM tactics over ten years, and over ten years the makeup of law enforcement at Burning Man has changed. One thing overall is for sure, take a look at the afterburn reports for ten years back, look at the population growth relative to both the size of law enforcement and the law enforcement budget for Burning Man. The growth of the size and budget for law enforcement for Burning Man is out of proportion with population growth, and you have to guess that whoever was asking for that money wants more money from us.

quoted in full because it seems to be valid. there used to be some public info from someone at the org on the numbers in each group - maybe part of leal, not sure, but i havent seen it for some time now.

Less people with disproportionately large law enforcement means problems.

been that way all along. considering the nature of the event, its remarkebly safe, the demand for leo's has always disproportionate.

goathead wrote:yes there where,the fuckers took up almost the entire parking lot at Bruno'scocksuckers just parking everywhere.even right in front of MY PLACE.pricks, don't they know that is MY PARKING SPOT.

I'd suggest you go out in your leather g-string with your bullwhip and explain it to them......

I did bring out the big lens and the welding goggles, they avoided me.
BLM fire crews much more friendly.

Last year, I witnessed some folks who looked unburner like approach groups of people and not-so-subtly asked to be "hooked up".

This year, we had a few more reports but the folks involved were dressed-up to look more like burners. My contacts did tell me that there was something off about them - their clothing appeared too new, or the folks appeared ill-at-ease in them.

marcgorcey wrote:There appeared to be more undercover operations this year.

Last year, I witnessed some folks who looked unburner like approach groups of people and not-so-subtly asked to be "hooked up".

This year, we had a few more reports but the folks involved were dressed-up to look more like burners. My contacts did tell me that there was something off about them - their clothing appeared too new, or the folks appeared ill-at-ease in them.

those transmitters " they" put in your teeth are realy messing with you HuH??

Patrick Hand wrote:OK... I don't do drugs (I have experimented in the past...) but at Burning Man, other than alcohol, I'm 100% straight....

That said...

There were still a lot of cops patrolling the Playa... felt like I was in a Police State.....

Way to oppressive....

You know, life in rural Nevada gets a little boring until the crazies come to town. If the various agencies can make a case for being allowed to patrol BRC, in return for part of the ticket income, if you know what I mean...

Lot of talk here about police presence and surfeit thereof, but lemme tell you about Burning Man 2000. Cops were everywhere, not just in cars, but in groups on foot, walking around and through camps. Whenever I encountered such a group I made a "toking" motion with my hand at my mouth, acting like I was taking a deep drag on a joint. Cops got all frowny about that. But fuck 'em. Cops at BM are nothing but welfare cases, supported by a prohibition that outlived its usefulness the first day it was in effect.

This was my 10th burn in a row and I've never held back with the drug usage. I've even passed out drugs to strangers without problem.

But I do have one rule: no smoking pot for me. Not especially because of the bust factor, but because of how smoking (anything) doesn't go with the dry conditions and breathing dust on the playa. I bring EDIBLE CANNABIS. Going the edible route completely eliminates the whole sneaking a smoke thing. Plus cops become part of the extremely stoned scenery, not something to worry about.

Kids, bake your pot before leaving home and then get as safely baked as you wanna get on the playa.

Here's the thing about drugs at BM: drugs are ordinary. Drugs are what we do anyway, when we're at home. Don't make a big deal out of your drug use, especially to yourself. BM is mind-bending in so many ways that have nothing to do with taking drugs. Thinks of drugs as a substrate to the experience of Burning Man. A background to the experience, if you will. Take what you brought, share with friends, then head out into BRC for some real mindfuckery.

Drugs I recommend:
LSD (for the energy)
cannabis (only the edible type for me, thanks)
alcohol (loosens you up, but drink lots of water too.)
Benzos or trazadone: for sleeping.

Drugs I don't recommend:
Ecstacy: somehow, just seems to get in the way for me. YMMV.
GHB: you get overheated and keep having to take naps.
Mushrooms: Sensory overload is just too much on shrooms.

The list could go on, but those are the highlights for me. Highlights, geddit?

Just a reminder that while some people saw more cops than before, others may well have seen few or none. It's possibly a sampling error. I suppose the LEALs have some idea of actual police numbers, but the rest of us are just guessing.

The Lady with a Lamprey

"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri